The Mystery of the Travelling Violin Case

It was just another day of antiquing here on the Central Coast of California, when I discovered this 19th century violin case.  It is not exactly the type of item I normally look for, or at. In fact, it was a bit creepy.  It was made of wood, painted black, and because of its form, I would later learn is often called a "coffin-shaped" violin case.  Yet something drew me to take a look.  There on the front was a cartouche with copperplate engraved lettering and the owner's name - "Alfred Catchpole Geneva, N.Y.".  Those of you who follow this blog, will know that I am from the East Coast of the United States, and that my hometown is Geneva, NY.  So here on the West Coast was a memento of my childhood home!  

Some preliminary research has uncovered information on the Geneva Catchpoles:  Alfred Catchpole died on August 13, 1913 at age 84.  His wife, Emily, died on May 30, 1905 aged 73 years old. Their only child, Alfred Edward, sadly died on September 14, 1873 aged 14 months.  They are all interred in Glenwood Cemetery in Geneva, NY.  Alfred senior, owner of the violin, was a respected member of the community, and one of the founders of the Catchpole Boiler Works. 

 (Photograph from New York Heritage Digital Collections)

The family home was at No. 9 Genesee Park.  I know this house well.  It is located on the park across from the Presbyterian church where generations of my family worshipped.  I remember this house being home to Ida Smith.  An elderly spinster, every Sunday she sat in a pew at the front of the church, with another elderly lady, both dressed in black, and looking like characters out of a Gorey cartoon.  When Ida passed away, a young family bought the house for a very modest price.  Rumor has it that the rooms were filled floor-to-ceiling with amazing antiques and artifacts, some ending up at the local historical society, some being sold, and some kept by the new owners.  I wonder if the violin was part of this dispersal?

The violin case itself travelled even before it arrived in Upstate New York.  Examining further the metal plate on the front, I found a tiny maker's mark with the name "Delanoy".  Alexandre Delanoy (1850 -1928) was a famous violin maker who worked in Bordeaux, France.  Some of his violins now fetch up to $35,000.  Mrs. Catchpole was born in France, and perhaps she brought the violin and case to the marriage.  Where is that violin now? I do know where the case is! 

It's all a mystery to me.  To be continued ...

Marjorie 

Yankee Doodle Dandies

Geneva-on-the-Lake, July 4, 1929

Another Fourth of July celebration at the American Legion. The headliners were local "hoofers", Dorothy Sebastian and Anita Page, who performed a Patriotic tap routine. A dazzling fireworks display followed.

Applause, applause,
Marjorie

Design Chameleon

Are you a design chameleon? I am. Just as a chameleon changes color to adapt to a new environment, I can change my style, or design aesthetic at the drop of a hat, or at a glimpse of a decorating magazine or a film set.

My personal design career began at age five, in an attic garret of the family home at 109 Maxwell Ave in Geneva New York. As kids, my younger brother and I were each given a room to decorate, and full reign of an attic loaded with miraculous clutter from many generations: tattered overstuffed chairs, framed prints, damasked curtains and other treasures.

Breaking early with tradition, (all the women in my family were partial to Williamsburg green interiors), my first one-room studio apartment was considered very Boho, with its white walls, purple and orange accents, and a Rya shag rug. Early on, I experimented with fashioning curtains from paisley Madras bedspreads and linen bed sheets. In one house I exposed all the brick of the walls, and in another I enthusiastically papered everything in sight.

Our ugly duckling wreck of a house in Massachusetts, became a sweet country farmhouse with the help of many gallons of Laura Ashley sage green paint. A more difficult decorating challenge presented itself in the form of a fifties retro ranch house in Geneva Switzerland. It was beautifully situated on “Chemin des Muguets”, in the shadow of the Salève Mountain, and with a magnificent Magnolia tree out front. But a few quirky bits made this the house that no one wanted. We instantly fell in love with it, especially wall-to-wall French doors throughout, which gave way to the gardens. Eventually, we also made peace with the dreaded shiny black ceramic tiles in the master bath by hanging some colorful framed fish posters from the Monterey Aquarium.

Over the five years that we lived in Europe, we enjoyed filling our homes with brocante finds. When we returned back to the States, these souvenirs gave a French twist to our 1800 New England clapboard home.

Later, while living on the 18th floor of a modern high rise in Beijing, we created a little corner of Old China: a Chinese wedding bed doubled as a sofa in the living room, and the kitchen was entered through an ornate antique lattice door.

From Shabby Chic, to French Country, to China Retro I’ve dabbled in it all. My most recent decorating incarnation might be described as Rough Luxe.

Our tiny cottage in Carmel-by-the-Sea sheltered a hodge podge of family pieces and flea market treasure.

Here is a section of the living room. I may have pushed the decorating envelope a tad too far, when I broke one of the main rules of "Decorating 101", and centered a framed picture above the fireplace. Another decorating violation was buying the faux seascape oil painting in the first place.

Next to the fireplace is a Scandinavian style chair. It was purchased at my favorite Australian op shop (charity resale shop). This was the same day that I met my soon-to-be good mate Linley, who was minding the store. As she helped me load the chair in the boot of my car, I asked her what she thought of my purchase. “Not much!” she quickly replied. It reminded her too much of family holidays at the beach. “But that’s exactly why I love it!” I remarked, trying not to act too disappointed. In spite of our aesthetic differences, we have remained dear friends. I love my chair with its squishy cushions covered in a faded retro patterned fabric. When I settle in it, and rub its bleached worn arms, I am transported back to happy times in our Flinders "bach".

On the move again, we’re leaving behind the tranquility of Carmel-by-the-Sea for the rugged landscape between the dunes and mountains on the other side of Monterey California.

Channeling the design chameleon within,
Marjorie

In the Wax Museum

When I was a little girl, no trip to the Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York would be complete without a walk-by of the portrait of my grandfather hanging with other past directors of the Station, and a visit to the wax model collection. I remember climbing the big stairs to the 2nd floor of Jordan Hall, and getting up on tippy-toes to peer at the life-like fruits and vegetables in the high wood and glass display cases.

Inside was a veritable museum in wax: apples, pears, grapes, peas, beans, and more.

Most looked good enough to eat, except for some strangely deformed specimens. (I would later learn that these represented plants in various stages of insect infestation and fungal disease).

Over the years the stairs got easier to climb, and I made fewer visits. When I did, the collection was beginning to look a little tired. And then it was gone! Deemed old-fashioned, and the space needed for other purposes, the pieces were packed away.

So, two summers ago, when I was asked by the Station Librarian if I wanted to work with the collection, it was like meeting an old friend. And this is how some would say I spent my summer vacation!

In the days before photography, and particularly color photography, wax models were an important teaching tool. They were employed in horticulture and botany classes, and often displayed in libraries, museums and research institutions. These models provided the students of the day with realistic facsimiles of plants, which might be rare, not available locally, or out of season.

James S. Lawson was the chief Preparator of the Geneva Collection. Lawson was born in Ontario, Canada in 1890. As a young man, he had the opportunity to meet, and later work with Mrs. Stanley Potter (Sarah), the resident wax artist at the Ontario Agricultural College. He worked at the Station in Geneva during summers, from 1920 to 1935. Another artist, Clara Barnes, carried on the wax model work at the Station from 1936 to 1942, also on a part time basis. Together these artists created close to 500 wax models of fruit, vegetables and fungi.

The fascinating thing about these wax models is their realism, particularly in color and texture. You might even be tempted to take a bite.

It is reported that Lawson would go to great lengths to achieve this realism. He actually cut pieces of hair from his arms to create fine bristles on raspberry models,

Little is known about how the Geneva specimens were made; but there is documentation on how Sarah Potter worked. And, if indeed Lawson was her student, it would follow that he would employ similar methods. Two representative examples of each fruit or vegetable would be chosen. One would be used to make a plaster mold. The second example was used for coloring guidance. The finished pieces in the Geneva Collection are for the most part mounted with wire on heavy cardstock mounts. The variety, and sometimes further notes, are given in a legend beneath the specimen in letterpress or a stamped format. We know that Lawson learned other skills such as soldering, tin-smithing and printing in order to further enhance his works.

During my time working with the Collection, I kept busy preparing an inventory, organizing storage, conducting some minor conservation, and compiling various finding aids.

Piecing together the story of the Station’s Collection, as well as defining its place in the history of wax model-making, has been fascinating; and is an ongoing project. Wax has been used by artists as a medium for botanical modeling as far back as 15th century Europe. The 19th century found the art of wax modeling introduced as a home recreation for ladies. This was also the time of famous modelers such as the Mintorn Family of England, who fashioned a large scale wax model of the 'Victoria Regia' for Kew Gardens. Even at the World’s Fairs and international agricultural exhibitions it was a common practice to include wax fruit specimens as part of the displays.

What began as a “Tale Of Two Collections” (Geneva and Ontario) is today so much more! My research has uncovered other like collections worldwide: in Buffalo, in Chicago, in Florence and in Sydney, to name just a few. Ironically for me, one of the largest collections is at Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia where I resided for 6 years.

These Collections are treasures. They are important not only for their uniqueness and artistic merit, but for their relevance to the current interest in heritage plants, biodiversity, climate change and food security. One can only imagine what other wonderful undiscovered collections are packed away in the museums of the world.

Waxing Poetic,
Marjorie


(Photos courtesy of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station)

The Language of Bread

Just call me “Little Miss Sunbeam Bread”. When I was little, this doll-like icon with the yellow Betty Grable curls and plump cheeks was my ideal of girlish beauty. But when it came to choosing my “pain quotidien”, it was Wonder Bread everyday.

Ironically, I was raised in a family of good bakers. Each fall and winter, Aunt Margaret’s Vermont kitchen would be full of the scent of her homemade donuts. Grandma Goodrich was queen of the pies; and one year she taught me the tricks of the trade. The result of our first collaboration, miniature sour cherry pies, was the gourmet hit of the church Strawberry Festival. Grandpa Goodrich, on special occasions, would channel his French/Canadian ancestry, and serve up his famous crepes. Aunt Lois, a Southerner, introduced me to the delights of Sally Lunn bread and seven layer cake. However, no one in our family baked bread until along came “moi.”

Once a week, the children and I would take down the big yellow mixing bowl, flour-up, and produce four loaves of bread. The hands-on favorite was Challah or Sabbath loaf (House and Garden’s New Cookbook, p.257). My little apprentices became expert at punching down the giant yeast puffball, and braiding the three pieces of dough into exquisitely tressed creations. Sometimes, just to put a little pizzazz into our routine, we would add raisins and a topping of sugar glaze, or grated cheese. I even attempted, and mastered Julia’s French baguette recipe.

When we went to live in Europe, I hung up my apron because there was so much good local bread to be found. How could I possibly compete with the brot from the bakkerijs in Belgium, or the pain from the boulangeries in France and Switzerland! When in Paris, we would always beat a path to Poilâne on Cherche-Midi, for some of the best rustic loaves and apple tarts ever. Back home in Belgium, we discovered that the same local monasteries so praised for their beer, also made heavenly bread.

European style bread-making has even come to my hometown in Upstate New York. The new kid on the block is Dustin Cutler, whose shop, Normal Bread, is located at 111 Washington Street, Geneva, NY. Dustin apprenticed to Richard Rice at the North Head Bakery in Grand Manan, New Brunswick, and has been in his present location for two years. He uses only 100% organic flour, and almost no sugar or oils. The bread is fermented overnight, and then baked in a four deck steam tube oven.

Et voilà, out comes his crusty signature Levain de pâte and assorted other breads. (Photos courtesy of Doug Reilly/Dandelion Empire.)

Bread culture and history is celebrated around the globe. For a list of bread museums, see http://foodhistorynews.com/directory.html. (Use the search term "bread" under Food Museums.)

For example, Save the Bakehouses is a unique movement to protect and preserve the old baking huts of Belgium. These historic structures are disappearing quickly. Thus far, 2903 examples have been inventoried. For a complete list and slide show see: http://www.mot.be/w/1/index.php/BakehousesEn/Bakehouses

It’s a Wonder-ful World,
Marjorie